Method of making andiron legs



June 16, 1953 H, SHERMAN 2,642,024

METHOD OF MAKING ANDIRON LEGS Filed Feb. 11. 1950 Tijna- 16b INVENTOR. H IRRY JHE'KMqN ATTORNEY V stamping.

Patented June 16, 1953 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKING ANDIRON LEGS Harry Sherman, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Harry Sherman and Shimen Sherman, doing business as The Sherman Tool Die and Metal Stamping 00., New York, N. Y.

Application February 11, 1950, Serial No. 143,766

' lend an impression of weight and solidity. However, so as to reduce the amount of metal em ployed it has been customary to hollow out the backs of the legs. As a result a conventional andiron leg has a cross-section which is U- shaped, i. e. rearwardly flanged, around its periphery. Nevertheless, according to custom, such flanges are omitted at three places, these being the bottom edges of both feet and the center of the bottom edge of the body. This'custom is very strongly ingrained in the trade which refuses to accept andiron legs not having the configuration just described.

It has been the practice up to the present time to make andiron legs by casting, the reason for this being that this method of fabrication was the only method by which it was deemed possible to make an article having the shape described. Such method of fabrication was used despite the fact that it was slow and tedious and expensive to practice.

It has been proposed to make andiron legs by But due to the complex shape involved and to the requisite thickness of metal, andiron legs so made had warped shapes and cracked edges which rendered them unacceptable to the trade and to the public.

It is. an object of my invention to provide a blank and method for making andiron legs through Whose use perfect andiron legs can be stamped with great rapidity.

It is another object of my invention to provide a blank and method for making andiron legs which enables perfect andiron legs of all standard patterns to be fabricated with ease on conventional stamping equipment.

It is another object of my inventionto provide tures of construction, combination of elements,

. 2Claims. (01.113-51) 2 arrangements of parts and series of steps which will be exemplified in the construction and process hereinafter described and shown and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims. v

In the accompanyingdrawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a blank adapted to be stamped into an andiron leg in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through a pair of dies engaged in stamping said blank, said figure being taken substantially along the plane included by the line 22 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged sectional views taken substantially along the planes indicated by the lines 3-3 and 44 respectively of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the andiron leg as it appears after stamping but before finishing thereof; and

Figs. 6, '7, 8 and 9 are front, bottom, rear, and top views, respectively, of a completed andiron leg.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 6-9, the reference numeral Hl denotes a fully fashioned andiron leg fabricated in accordance with and embodying my invention. Said leg includes a body l2, a pair of downwardly extending pedestals l4 and a foot It on each pedestal. The body 12 has a flat horizontal top wall I8 which is adapted to have seated thereon a conventional column (not shown) of an andiron. The wall I8 is formed with a through opening 20 that is designed to accommodate a threaded rod used to secure the column in place.

The body also includes a vertical front wall 22 at right angles to the top wall H3. The configuration ofthe front wall as viewed in an elevation (see Fig. 6) is determined by design considerations and I have shown herein one of the standard shapes employed. It will be understood, however, that this contour will be varied to conform to the various set styles. The front wall may be outwardly convex as is best shown in Fig. 7; that is to say, said wall is bowed outwardly between the two pedestals l4 (see also Fig. 9). At its bottom edge the body is provided with integral rearwardly extending flanges 23 which are of maximum height adjacent .the pedestals and reduce gradually in height toward and terminate a short distance from the center a. of the body (see Fig. '7). Accordingly the body is of U-shaped vertical cross-sectional configuration in the region of the two pedestals and has an angle-shaped vertical cross-sectional 3 configuration at its center. The wall 22 thus may be deemed to be a rearwardly extending flange running along the upper edge of the body, and the flanges 23 discontinuous rearwardly extending flanges running along the outer edge of the body and spaced from one another at the center of the body. At its center the wall 22 is almost flat, there being present only the very slight outwardly convex curvature which the design requires.

The pedestals it have a contour, viewed in elevation, which likewise is governed by stylized design considerations. Said pedestals are of U- shaped horizontal cross-sectional configuration throughout their lengths from the body if to the feet It. the body the outer and inner rearwardly extending flanges E ia, Mb of the pedestals are of the same height as, and run smoothly into, the cor-. responding flanges i8, 23 of the body.

The feet are of any desired contour in elevation. In horizontal cross-section said feet are of U-shaped configuration. The outer and inner flanges Eta, ltb of the feet are of the same height as, and run smoothly into, the flanges Ma, lab of the pedestals. The bottoms of the feet are open, 1. e. unflanged, in order to create a minimum of contact area between the feet and the surface on which they rest, thereby assuring maximum stability.

All parts of the andiron leg are fashioned from a single piece of sheet metal which preferably is of comparatively heavy gauge, for example, thirteen gauge or heavier, i. e. at least about onetenth of an inch.

The andiron leg is stamped from a blank 24 that is cut from sheet metal, e. g. brass, of the requisite thickness in a suitable manner, for example by a conventional pair of blanking dies of the proper outline to form a blank of the desired shape. Except for tabs 26, 28, 39, 32, whose position and purpose will be discussed hereinafter in detail, the blank simply has an outline such that when shaped to the final configuration illustrated in Figs. 6-9, the edges of the blank will constitute the edges of the completed andiron leg. In other words, the shape of the blank, except for said tabs, is controlled by the ultimate shape desired to be imparted to the andiron leg. This shape can be arrived at by development of the andiron leg or by altering the shape of the blank progressively after stamping the andiron leg until there is no excess metal present in the flanged leg, or by any other method well known in the sheet metal working art. that the blank includes a body section A, pedestal sections B and pedal sections C.

Said blank is brought to the required shape by pressing the same between a pair of stamping dies 34, 36. Optionally, the die 34 may be stationary and the die 35 vertically reciprocal. The die 34 is provided with a female impression and the die 36 shaped negatively to match this impression and to accommodate between the two dies sheet metal of the thickness to be worked.

It has been found that when attempting to shape by stamping an andiron leg having a configuration such as described above, certain difficulties arise which heretofore have prevented the use of stamped andiron legs on a commercial basis. Essentially these difficulties arise from the common fault that when flanges are formed along spaced edges of a piece of sheet metal of substantial thickness, i. e., in the order of thirteen gauge or thicker, the dies cannot maintain flat or even At the point where the pedestals meet It thus will be appreciated iii approximately flat the region of the sheet metal between the flanges. For example, in the feet Hi, the flanges 56a, Nib are located at the outer and inner edges. When these flanges are stamped so as to extend rearwardly, i. e., drawn out in a stamping die, the base of the U-shaped section markedly bows outwardly and prevents this portion of the andiron leg from remaining flat or substantially flat as is required by the trade. This deformation of the finished leg occurs over the range of pressures normally employed for shaping metal of the thickness mentioned. If greater pressures are used to flatten the leg, cracks or wrinkles will appear in the feet which also will render the andiron leg unsalable.

The same difficulty is present in the region a between the rearwardly extending flanges 23. It has been found that in this region too the andiron leg tends to bow forwardly to an extent such that the same is not salable.

In accordance with the present invention these dimculties are avoided by employing the tabs 26, 23, til, 32. Said tabs are integrally attached to (in one piece with) the edges of the blank in regions where the same otherwise would buckle. The tabs are turned rearwardly by the stamping dies 34, 36 and act to hold the metal of the feet and-body in place as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. After the andiron legs have been stamped, the tabs are substantially at right angles to the plane of those portions of the andiron leg which otherwise would have buckled. This is best seen in Fig. 5.

Subsequent to stamping, the tabs 26, 28, 30 and 32 are removed in any suitable manner, for example by grinding, leaving the finished appearance indicated in Fig. 9. It will be observed that said leg has no unseemly bowing either in the region a of the body or at the feet 56.

It also is desired to note that the rear edges of the flanges show a full thickness of metal (see Fig. 8) inasmuch as these edges have not been subjected to any metal removing operation subsequent to stamping and since such edges are substantially at rig t angles to a vertical plane perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of the andiron leg.

It thus will be seen that I have provided an andiron leg and method and blank for making the same which achieve the several objects of my invention and are well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various possible changes might be made in the embodiment set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A method of making an andiron leg which constitutes a body having a pair of downwardly extending pedestals that terminate in feet, said method comprising forming from thick sheet metal a blank including a body section, pedestal sections and pedal sections, stamping said blank in stamping dies into an andiron leg with a continuous flange extending rearwardly from the upper edge of the body and the outer edges of the pedestals and feet and with flanges extending rearwardly from the inner edges of the pedestals and feet and the bottom edge of the body on both sides of the center of the body, the center of the bottom edge of the body having no rearwardly extending flange and the bottom edges of the feet having no rearwardly extending flanges, said blank including a set of integral tabs at the edges of the pedal sections which after stamping are the bottom edges of thefeet, said blank further including another set of integral tabs on the body section at portions of the edges thereof which after stamping are the bottom edge of the body on both sides of the center thereof, said sets of tabs being formed during stamping into projections extending rearwardly in the same direction as the flanges, the distal ends of said tabs being free during stamping and said tabs dragging against the sides of the stamping die at the same time, whereby to prevent bowingof the feet and of the body during stamping, and thereafter removing said tabs. I

2. A method of making an andiron leg which constitutes a body having a pair of downwardly extending pedestals that terminate in feet, said method comprising forming from sheet metal having a thickness of at least about one-tenth of an inch a blank including a body section, pedestal sections and pedal sections, stamping said blank in stamping dies into an andiron leg with a continuous flange extending rearwardly from the upper edge of the body and the outer edges of the pedestals and feet and with flanges extending rearwardly from the inner edges of the pedestals and feet and the bottom edge of the body on both sides of the center of the body, the center of the bottom edge of the body hay.-

- ing rearwardly in the same direction as the flanges, the distal ends of said tabs being free during stamping and said tabs dragging against the sides of the stamping die at the same time, whereby to prevent bowing of the feet and of the body during stamping, and thereafter removing said tabs.

HARRY SHERMAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 226,737. Fisher Apr. 20, 1880 376,666 Lee Jan. 17, 1888 814,568 Stagg Mar. 6, 1906 1,033,209 Stucki July 23, 1912 1,455,053 Halloway et a1 May 15, 1923 1,584,119 Moecker May 11, 1926 1,916,113 Moore June 2'7, 1933 2,033,900 Ireland Mar. 10, 1935 

